America Besieged 2

America Besieged 2 Gaizutis-1 America Besieged By Michael Gaizutis "" ¦One nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all"  (Commentary). Our nation has been attacked; but we will not be divided. We have been threatened, and remain in fear; but we will retaliate. Justice will prevail; and our nation will stand strong. Now is the time to contemplate solutions. As a United States Citizen, you are obligated to help your nation in unifying with your fellow citizens. You are also required to stay opinionated, remain perceptive, and without a doubt, offer to condole anyone in need. Along with condoling, you must also be reflecting on ways to help our nation continue to thrive. As a result, this nation of ours will continue to remain strong, and other countries will follow in our footsteps.The act of terrorism that took place on the United States of America on September 11th, 2001, had everyone in a state of mass confusion.Cabinet Terrorism Drill

The Kyoto Protocol essays

The Kyoto Protocol essays A free good is a good that we can consume in infinite quantities without foregoing any resources. These would include those things freely given by nature such as sunlight, as we use the nutrients of sunbeams. An economic good is a good that has an opportunity cost to be produced. This includes all goods that are not free. Because of things like the Kyoto Accord, air or that is to say clean air as well as global temperature are becoming economic goods. This stays true to the theory of economics: you cannot get something for nothing. Since the Kyoto Accord demands that all countries reduce all greenhouse gas emissions of 1990 by 5.2% by 2012 or to exist within a maximum output limit of greenhouse gases per capita, clean air becomes a good which must be invested in to maintain. This requires the use of the factors of production to limit or reduce a countrys output of greenhouse gases. The factors of production are the resources that are needed for production. These include land (all natural resources), labour (all human resources), capital (machinery and equipment) and enterprise (risk taking to make profits). If a restaurant is growing into a chain with multiple locations, land is needed to build these locations and resources are needed for building and providing food to the consumer. Labour is needed to plan the expansion, build the new locations and operate these new locations. Capital is utilized in the form of construction machinery and the equipment used in the restaurants kitchen. This is all made possible because of the entrepreneur backing the expansion for a net profit. The Kyoto protocol will simply decrease the need for factors of production put into things that produce greenhouse gases and more will be needed for things that maintain or reduce a countrys output of greenhouse gases. The demand for fossil fuels will drop, as alternative energy sources are used more and invested in by government and p...

Why Online Education Is Bad Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Why Online Education Is Bad - Research Paper Example The advent of computers along with internet has attracted so many people to web-based schools otherwise known as e-Learning or virtual learning or online education. VLE is simply called Online Education in this research paper. Usually, there are seven main reasons why students particularly value online education and supported Home Education as a serious alternative to attending physical schools and colleges: Worldwide residents / expatriates wanting a British-style education, but not satisfied with local provision, or living too remote for the desired schooling; Disability or health issues - either of the student, or a close family member; Confidence issues, perhaps associated with: Bullying in a mainstream school; High achievers and independent learners, perhaps with less common learning styles; School "refusers"; Philosophical, social or religious principles. To further confirm some of the findings, presented in this paper the researcher had ventured to do his own survey and found out a similar negative feedback about Online Education. Indeed, the greater majority, 75% showed dissatisfaction for the online instructors. 63.16 % believed in the importance of social interaction as a major part of education. Of those who took online education, 72.7 % believed that their chances for employment will be worse if they base it only on their eLearning courses. The survey of the researcher therefore affirms the information, that Online Education is bad for those who plan to apply for employment soon after finishing a degree in college.

Computer Sciences and Information Technology Essay - 3

Computer Sciences and Information Technology - Essay Example From the discussion it is clear that the growth in the use of the Internet has resulted in the use of more multimedia components, which require greater network bandwidth and consequently new network considerations. Audio and video as multimedia components require large bandwidth for transmission, and therefore pose a very real threat to overloading the connections and hampering other transmissions in the process. The quagmire has led to the development of a technique to prevent the risk of network collapse through overload. TCP is presently the most popular end-to-end congestion control mechanism in use. From TCP transmission properties emerged TCP friendly transmission, a connection standard that ensures the integrity and reliability of the network amidst heavy usage for multimedia streaming transmissions. TCP is the most common congestion control mechanism over the Internet.As the essay highlights  most of the Internet traffic is TCP based, consequently, the need for congestion c ontrol protocols to be TCP friendly is indisputable. Therefore, the rate at which non-TCP flows send data should be as close as possible to the TCP rates, otherwise called TCP friendly. In summary, TCP friendly flow of streaming media is one that makes similar utilization of the network resources as a standard non-conforming TCP under similar circumstances. Real-time multimedia applications streaming over the internet usually require special network circumstances to avoid congestion, as they may consume large amounts of bandwidth and cause packet drops. (Wang, Long, Cheng and Zhang, 2000). TCP friendly flows offer a means of congestion control, allowing applications to make better use of the network, and prevent the uneventful network malfunction that results in the crippling congestive collapse in computer networks. Usually, UDP traffic, mainly for the transmission of stored streaming audio over the Internet, consumes higher than normal bandwidth, which poses a risk to other networ k connections (Wang et al, 2000). As such, UDP connections result in congestion in the networks, and unfairly interference with initially responsive TCP connections due to the greater load on the network resources. Consequently, UDP, a non-TCP protocol needs to adaptation to bandwidth control mechanisms to make it TCP-friendly, and therefore make similar use of network resources as the more regular TCP connections. There exist a number of congestive friendly mechanisms. For instance, end-to-end TCP friendly congestion control mechanism reduces the load on the network when packet drops occur (Wang et al, 2000). The end-to-end congestion control is useful for both responsive and unresponsive network flows. However, end-to-end TCP friendly congestion control can only detect congestion through delays and loss in data packets, which means that their reaction is usually too late. Alternatives that are more efficient include hop-by-hop congestion control, which are better at avoiding conge stion before it occurs (Wang et al, 200

Physical systems in Canada and US Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Physical systems in Canada and US - Essay Example The land area of these countries runs from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The Pacific Ocean parallels the coastal region of Canada and the U.S. Furthermore, tectonic forces formed the mountainous ranges of these countries millions of years ago. They include the Cascade Range, Coast Range, Alaska range, and Sierra Nevada (National Geographic, 2013). It is believed that from 500 million year of old rocks present at permission gap to contemporary windblown sand dunes at Canyon, geologic formation or configuration of the big bend illustrate interestingly the diverse depositional styles over an enormous interval of time. For majority of the individuals, it measured by passing generations, years and days. The issue of geologic time is not easily comprehended because events that happened 20 million or as many as 100 million years are at best, hard to comprehend. During the end of the Paleozoic period, a deep ocean basin or trough expanded from modern day Oklahoma and Arkansas into the big bend place of the West Texas. Sands and sediments from the highlands to the north formed and accumulated in that basin or trough to create layers or sheets of sand, clay, and gravel. With time, these sheets melted into shale beds and sandstones. Canada and the U.S are experiencing strain on environmental resources because of increased population. The environment determines the use of resources meets human requirement while preserving and maintaining the environment in order to ensure that that human needs can be met in present and in the future. Distribution of human population affects environmental resources, regions that people live, and consumption patterns. It is rational to state that more people needs more environmental resources and produce more waste which pose a greater challenge to the environment (National Geographic, 2013). The rapidly growing population is experiencing a scenario whereby many people

Risk Analysis of German Banks

Risk Analysis of German Banks During this assignment, the German banks data were compared to that of France and Italy banks. A simple regression analysis was performed. The data suggests that there are great variations in the basic principles when are applied in finding out the exact risks. In general, it is noted that that the France and Italy banks are more riskier than the German banks. In the financial institutions, the risks are assessed in a very particular manner. The purpose of discussing risks is to encourage the investors in the banking sectors. Therefore the managements and high level authorities in the banking system apply the various tools in addressing the risks. It is very eminent that the with out the support of the banking systems by and large the businesses can not grow, as these should be. Therefore there must be some ways of addressing the risks in the very first place. Including to satisfy the share holders and stakeholders, and other stakeholders, (Watson and Head, 2005). There are eminent differences in between the emerging market financial systems and the banking systems of developed countries. However the reasons for this significantly. It is noted that the various researchers, scholars, and academicians have shown divided ideas. As we can that some of them had a firm view about the unstable macroeconomic environment, and rest of the scholars have come forward with the point about weaker risk management practices, (Beck et al. 2003). Keeping the importance of risks assessment and its management, the followings are highlighted, so that this issue can understood in an acceptable way. Literature of Review: The banks invest their money in the different projects, such as buying of shares, construction projects, and other financial intuitions. There is also a fact that the management s in the banks monitor, evaluate and judge the performance of their projects during and after the completion of projects. Similarly, Ma, and Eli (2005) indicated that the implementers in the banking sectors must get the lessons for the previous years, failing to this would be failure of the whole project. Basically they (Ma and Eli) did support the theory of application, which suggests that investing directly to the system do not justify the action. There must be a some kind of rational in addressing the risks in the financial and highly competitive environment. In addition, to above, according to Bank for International Settlements, (2002) and Topping (2005) while highlighting the importance of risks evaluation and its management indicated that the some of the factors which contribute the risks are such as, the changing nature of macroeconomic risks, new forms of risks to the banks, and whether or the abilities, skills and other measures have really improved in addressing the issues of risks. In very simple words, it is found that the risks increase when the banks do not imply certain methods. These methods are related to see and judge the results of previous years when there were projects in the pipe lines. Some of the high rated researchers, scholars and professionals such as Chris (2008) and Topping (2005) basically indicated the following levels are addressed and if done, then there are less chances of increasing risks, such as: Risk identification: This is very basic stage where the banks can identify the risks. In simple meaning in the inputs are discussed broadly, and its implications are noted before, during and after the completion. In broader sense, this is done at the sites, where projects will be launched. Particularly, the following points can help in identifying the risks, such as: †¢ Who will take responsibility for risk identification? †¢ Process for risk identification, including existing and new products, and †¢ Regularity in reviews. Risk measurement: The followings nine factors can be measured during risk measurement such as: Capital, Assets, Market risks, Earnings, Liabilities, Business, Internal Controls, Organisation, Management. Whereas while talking about frequency of risk measurement, the followings should be noted very carefully, such as: Sources of data, it includes market prices and position information Risk measurement tools, given the complexity and level of risk assumed, Ability to measure risk at both transactional and portfolio levels. Methodology to ensure all identified risks are monitored, Accuracy, and clarity of monitoring reports, Involvement of management and staff in having the reports, Comparability of output against predetermined limits. http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/policy/p10.pdf The benefits of risk assessment: There are multi-layered assessment benefits to the banks and financial institutions. It include such as to make profits and distribute among the shareholders. It helps the clients for the banks others (employees) satisfied. This brings more jobs to the public and indirectly helps in boosting GDP. The risk assessment keeps busy the staff in doing their professional work. It can be seen that the supervisors need to spend time on-site discussing the issues with senior bank management. The time taken to perform this work will vary from bank to bank depending on the size and complexity of the institution. However, following a risk assessment, the supervisor will be better placed to decide on the intensity of the future supervision having obtained a better understanding of a banks risk profile. The intensity of supervision and the amount and focus of supervisory action will increase in line with the perceived risk profile of a bank. One advantage this has for banks is that the cost of supervision, in terms of management time or through direct costs. WE have to agree that the banks pay high costs for initial assessments, and in turn if their projects are completed, the banks then take benefit of having high wages and other facilities. The bank official especially in the third world are highly paid. Table 1 shows the three pillars in the banking sector Pillar 1 Minimum Capital Requirements Pillar 2 Supervisory Review Pillar 3 Market Discipline Market risk _ No changes from Basel I Credit risk _ Significant change from Basel I _ Three different approaches to the calculation of minimum capital requirements _ Capital incentives for banks to move to more sophisticated credit risk management approaches based on internal ratings _ Sophisticated approaches have systems/controls and data collection requirements as well as qualitative requirements for risk management Operational risk _ Not explicitly covered in Basel I _ Three different approaches to the calculation of minimum capital requirements _ Adoption of each approach subject to compliance with defined ‘qualifying criteria Banks should have a process for assessing their overall capital adequacy and strategy for maintaining capital levels _ Supervisors should review and evaluate banks internal capital adequacy assessment and strategies _ Supervisors should expect banks to operate above the minimum capital ratios and should have the ability to require banks to hold capital in excess of the minimum (i.e., trigger/target ratios in the United Kingdom; prompt corrective action in the United States) _ Supervisors should seek to intervene at an early stage to prevent capital from falling below minimum levels Market discipline reinforces efforts to promote safety and soundness in banks _ Core disclosures (basic information) and supplementary disclosures to make market discipline more effective Source: KPMG, 2003. The Table 1 above shows the details of three pillars. These guidelines are apparently seems to be quite added information for the banking managements. But again there is an inverse argument, who accepts the challenges, threats and then commits to carry out the assessments, so that the future risks could be minimised at least. Methodology and Data: The data for the banks regarding Germany, France and Italy was analysed by the Excel programme. During this analysis, a simple linear regression was carried out. There were altogether 8 parameters which were used. However in case Germany banks were compared to that of France and Italy. The parameters were such as, index, loans, equity, LA, NIM, ROAA, ROAE, and CIR. As a matter of fact these parameters are the base lines for the banks to work/operate in the competitive financial markets. Results and Discussions: The results of the analysis are presented below. It has already been indicated that the German data is compared to that of France and Italy. The Figure 1 below shows that the relationship between the German banks and France banks seems to be very poor. It means that the ways the German banks are applying are entirely different to that of France and vice versa. Figure 2 discusses the regression analysis of German banks versus Italy banks on the basis of index. It can be seen that again the relationship still very week. The data regarding loans is presented in the following Figure 3, in this case German banks were compared to that of France banks. The results show that the way the German banks are obtaining or lending loans are not comparable to that of France. It can also be seen from that Figure 3 that R2 value is too weak. Figure 4 shows the data comparison between the German banks and Italian banks. Again the regression analysis indicates that there is not good relationship between the two. Even when we look at the equation, it suggests that Italian banks approach is entirely negative to that of German banks regarding extending loan facilities to the businesses. In reality equity is the very important parameters, banks work against equity either way. It means if banks are getting loans from other financial institutions, it works on the basis of equity. It also argued here that the poor relationship between the German banks and France clearly demonstrates that there are more risks for the France banks when compared to German banks (Figure 5). Figure 6 highlights the comparison between German banks and Italy banks. The relationship between the two still very poor. It can also be seen that this relationship is negative. The data regarding LA is presented in Figure 7 and the relationship between German banks and France is indeed very poor. The results of LA regarding German banks and Italy banks suggest that there is negative relationship between the two. The same can be seen from Figure 8. Figure 9 suggests that the relationship regarding NIM for German and Italy banks negative, it means no relationship at all. The data concerning NIM is presented in the Figure 10. It can be seen that the relationship between the German banks and Italy very poor. As this relationship shows negative relationship. The analysis of ROAA regarding German and France banks is given in Figure 11. The negative relationship shows there is no strength in particularly applying the same approach. Again this ratio is highly important to note the differences in the banks. The results of analysis are given in Figure 12. It can be seen that there exists negative relationship between the German banks and Italy banks. Data regarding ROAE ratios is compared between the German and France banks. The same can be seen in Figure 13. The negative R2 value indicated the weakness of the relationship. Figure 14 suggests that the relationship between the German and Italy banks is negative. It means that the way the German banks are calculating ROAE is not same in case of Italy. The data in reference to CIR is shown in Figure 15. The comparison between the German and France banks shows that there is a negative relationship. The comparison about CIR between Germany and Italy clearly shows that there exists negative relationship. The same data is shown in Figure 16. When we look at the Figures above, in most of the analysis conducted for the various parameters show that there is a negative relationship. It means that the strength of the approach differs. As a matter of fact, it is argued that the methods of calculating risks are nearly similar in the German, France and Italy banks. So a question arises, why it is so? There could be many reasons behind the explanations. But very viable and quite acceptable refers to the non availability of the data during the months and years. The data shows big gaps, and further suggests the approaches in calculating risks in the banks are not same as in regarding Germany. Conclusions and recommendations: When we look above, it can be seen that there are different ways and means are being used by the three countrys banks in calculating the various ratios, including loans and debts. It is also very clear that there is no relationship when the data were tested through regression analysis. There is likely possibility that the German banks are not using those principles, where are used by the France and Italy banks, or vice versa. Concerning recommendations, it is suggested that the German banks if use the similar way of in disbursing loans especially; there is high probability that the risks could be deep down compared among the three countrys banks.

International Marketing and Management Essay

1. Preface As the neo-classic theory, the information model (McCracken, 2005) within advertising is based on the idea of homo economicus – the rational human being or the rational consumer. According to this theory the consumers evaluate products on a rational basis and buy the goods which are assessed to optimise their self-interest. Thus the cultural context surrounding the good is not taken into account when planning a branding strategy. This indicates that the consumer at any given time will select a product on the basis of an objective evaluation upon the good’s utility regardless of any other factors. However, how does the information model explain that that the consumer’s actions deviate from what is dictated in the theory and hence that the consumer does not always act rational? Consumers buying patterns and decision making seem to be controlled by other factors than rational evaluations and hence the information model appears to face limitations when trying to give explanation to why expensive branded goods are chosen rather than similar goods without brand value – choices, which are inherently irrational. So what triggers the consumer to make these choices? And if the consumers based their consumption on rationality would some luxury goods not battle to survive in the market place? Therefore, when looking into the specialty coffee1 market it could be argued that the similar cheaper coffee product now supplied by fast food chains such as McDonald’s or Dunkin Donuts, would easily substitute a product such as coffee from Starbucks Corporation2? However, it seems like the consumers act less rationally than predicted by the neo-classic economic theory and thus base their consumption choices on other factors than for instance price – it is not rational to buy a tall lattà © in Starbucks when a product with similar product-property can be bought in McDonald’s for less than half the price, but nevertheless numerous consumers do buy their latte at Starbucks. Then it is arguable that the quality and taste were what differentiated the Starbucks latte from the McDonald’s latte, which would justify the more expensive purchase. But according to specialists the price premium of coffee at Starbucks cannot be justified anymore (Schwaner-Albright, 2008) again indicating that something other than pure information is controlling consumers buying decisions. McCracken (2005) explains these irrational choices with the so-called transformation model, the counterpart of the information model, which operates within another paradigm not explaining consumer choices on the basis of information but on the basis of consumers being surrounded by culture – culture which affects the consumption patterns and that products possess intangible benefits or meanings which can be transferred from the products to the consumer, meanings which the consumers need to construct their identity. For this Speciality coffee: â€Å"Sometimes called â€Å"gourmet† or â€Å"premium† coffee, Specialty Coffees are made from exceptional beans grown only in ideal coffee-producing climates. They tend to feature distinctive flavours, which are shaped by the unique characteristics of the soil that produces them† (SCAA, 2008) Starbucks Corporation will be referred to as Starbucks in the rest of the thesis. Ea Elisabeth Finn Nielsen & Tina Holm Mortensen | The Story of Starbucks reason rational choices are not always made – brands possess intangible meanings which results in consumers making irrational choices based on emotions and feelings and which to some degree may explain the success of the Starbucks until now. 2. Problem Area Investigating the state and direction of Starbucks leaves one with the impression of a very successful company – it is an almost unbelievable success story about the coffee chain and a brand which changed the Americans’ coffee and cafà © culture. Since 1987, when this success story took its departure, Starbucks has attained immense growth results. The coffee shop chain has been growing with more that 20% a year (Bonamici & Fortune, 2004) and in five years the chain almost tripled the number of stores worldwide, from 5,886 in 2002 to 15,011 in 2007 (Harrer, 2008) resulting in an almost global omnipresence (Starbucks, 2008a). Thus, Starbucks is developing rapidly which is reflected in the fact that the chain until last year opens approximately five new stores a day worldwide. According to the corporation, the intention is to let this development continue and the plan is to add approximately 6,500 stores to the total store count by the end of 2011 (Starbucks, 2008b) However, in the media, Starbucks is criticised for this rapid growth and analysts do not seem to doubt that the expansion objective of a total number of 40,000 stores is to stretch the expansion too far, as it is estimated that it might be difficult to maintain a profitable turnover in the long run (Nocera, 2008). Furthermore, if continuing this fast, some analysts expect that the corporation eventually will destroy what they have built up and what have become to be known as their unique characteristics. Hence, analysts believe that Starbucks have lost focus and track of the Starbucks Experience3 which has always been the cornerstone of the corporation (Nocera, 2008). These statements are particularly interesting as Starbucks’ growth rate seems to have been slowing down the past year (Starbucks, 2008d). To this, it is seen how Starbucks is not able to meet the expectations of the market, which is reflected in dropping stock prices in particular, and in the fact that Starbucks struggles to retain the same costumer traffic as before. Starbucks believes that increasing competition from quick-service restaurants, which have started offering coffee and the decrease in the American economy, are the main explanations for Starbucks’ inferior results (Starbucks, 2008c). Naturally, it cannot be rejected that some of Starbucks’ decline is connected to the US economic slowdown as the tendency is seen across the industry, but comparing Starbucks’ stock prices to the overall index, Starbucks has experienced a steeper fall the past year (Factiva, 2008). Therefore, the decline may have other explanations. Although Starbucks is far from economic crisis at this moment, it can be argued that potential crisis are lurking. Starbucks strives to provide customers with a special and theatrical experience in a comfortable and inviting environment when buying their coffee beverage. This is referred to as â€Å"The Starbucks Experience† which will be elaborated on later as the experience comprises of many different factors. Ea Elisabeth Finn Nielsen & Tina Holm Mortensen | The Story of Starbucks Extending the knowledge of the Starbucks Corporation, there is no doubt that the future is challenging to Starbucks, especially since it has been presumed that the golden days of Starbucks is over (Gilbert in Nocera, 2008). In this context, it is essential to be aware of the growing tendency of customers deselecting Starbucks deliberately and especially the growing number of customers actually avoiding Starbucks (Thompson et al., 2006; Thompson and Arsel, 2004). The growing number of customers dissociating themselves from Starbucks, expressing their negative attitudes towards the corporation, cannot be ignored as they can be seen as an expression of Starbucks struggling with the trustworthiness of their brand. 2.1 Branding as the Root Cause Due to the growing dissociation from Starbucks and the questioning of their narratives, we argue that branding can be at the root of the problems Starbucks is facing currently. Thus, Starbucks’ approach to their branding is questioned. The dissociation from Starbucks can furthermore be understood as an expression of Starbucks not delivering what the consumer of today demands – thereby arguing that the Starbucks brand struggles in corresponding with the cultural desires in society. The purpose of the thesis is therefore to investigate how Starbucks has handled their branding and hence narratives. In relation to branding we have come across Holt (2004) and McCracken (1986; 2005) who both take a cultural approach to branding and thus focus on the importance of brands relating to the cultural context. Holt (2004) and McCracken’s (1986; 2005) theories analyse brands attached with meanings which consumers adopt when they buy the brand, thereby the brand’s meanings and values are transferred to the consumer’s identity. Thus, these brands can be characterised as identity brands. Starbucks is identified to be such an identity brand, seeing that customers apply the meanings of Starbucks’ brand in creating themselves (Thompson et al., 2006). Therefore, branding is about creating narratives which correspond with the desired image of the consumers. This requires an understanding of the historical and cultural context. The point is that if the narratives are not continuously related to the changing cultural context, hence the desires of the consumers, the brand will be in trouble as the narratives lose their trustworthiness (Holt, 2004). Based on Holt’s (2004) theory about iconic brands, it can additionally be argued that Starbucks has reached iconic status as they achieved to become a symbol representing the desires of consumer culture when they entered the market. They were able to comply with the subcultural desires of that time, exemplified by the â€Å"bobo-culture†, which will be elaborated on later (Thompson et al., 2006). This may leave one with the impression that Starbucks has pioneered in applying a cultural branding strategy. However, this does not seem to be the case since it is suggested that they do not change in line with the context yet, time after time, they intimate that they pursue an emotional branding strategy (Schultz & Yang, 1997; Michelli, 2006). Consumers’ doubt in Starbucks’ trustworthiness indicates conflicts in the image of Starbucks, and furthermore that the narratives do not correspond with the identity that consumers desire. Ea Elisabeth Finn Nielsen & Tina Holm Mortensen | The Story of Starbucks McCracken (2006) points out that all trends and concepts emerging as cultural innovations over time will be perceived as an ordinary standard; hence they lose what made them distinctive and interesting in the beginning, as well as their initial novelty value This is furthermore an interesting approach to Starbucks’ decline as it may be the case that Starbucks has difficulty in retaining the same position in the mind of the consumers seeing that the concept of specialty coffee might now be perceived as a mainstream concept. The cultural branding approach complies with and overcomes the shortcomings of emotional branding (Holt, 2004) which will be outlined as the branding strategy of Starbucks in the Literature Review. Therefore, the following Literature Review will serve as a justifying foundation for applying a cultural branding approach to the understanding of the Starbucks brand. 3. Literature Review The Starbucks corporation has been discussed in various articles, books, and TV shows and it seems that a large amount of writers have an opinion about the company which they wish to express in one way or another. However, only few articles and books have taken the discussion and analysis about the famous company to an academic level, and quite a few of these apply Starbucks as a case example and hence are not focussed on Starbucks alone. In the following review, we will outline the tendencies towards Starbucks’ branding. We have chosen to include academic research, consultancy work, and more descriptive analyses. We are aware of the fact that in the case of the consultancy literature, it appears to be weaker in its argumentation due to the fact that it is not based on thorough research. However, since only a little literature analyses Starbucks on an academic level, consultancy literature is included to give a more comprehensive image of the branding of Starbucks as it is found to provide a useful insight into how Starbucks have gone about their branding – knowledge which can be applied later in the thesis. Academic research includes, among others, Thompson and Arsel (2004), Thompson et al. (2006), Lyons (2005), Rindova in Lerpold et al. (2007). We define consultancy books as literature written with the purpose of giving the business-world’s suggestions on how to go about branding by applying Starbucks as a prime example. In the Literature Review, they are represented by Michelli (2007) and Scott Bedbury (2002). Lastly, there has been identified descriptive literature upon Starbucks’ branding. This is mainly written by Koehn (2001), Pendergrast (2001) and Luttinger and Dicum (2006), who include Starbucks in the historical context of the specialty coffee sector’s development. In general, it can be argued that the literature found shows an agreement in that Starbucks’ branding strategy is emotional, though some only imply this implicitly. We attempt to identify Ea Elisabeth Finn Nielsen & Tina Holm Mortensen | The Story of Starbucks gaps in the existing literature on which to base our argumentation of choosing a cultural branding approach. Moreover, most of the literature is written with the purpose of explaining Starbucks’ current troubles – therefore the gaps identified should not be seen as a criticism towards the existing literature as it has not been its purpose to analyse Starbucks from a cultural and contextual approach. Moreover, all texts have been composed before the crisis of Starbucks and therefore it seems logical that Starbucks’ poorer performance has not been investigated. Nevertheless, the fact is that only few authors have taken Starbucks’ lack of cultural branding up for evaluation and we will apply knowledge from these authors as foundation for the further research. 3.1 A Holistic Approach Michelli (2007) describes through an internal analysis of the corporation how Starbucks revolutionised the coffee industry, gained high growth rates, and success worldwide. Michelli (2007) points out that the company has followed five principles, and that these have lead directly to their success. The principles are all focused on how the company can differentiate from other coffee shops and, through the principles, create a special coffee experience for the customer. The key to this special experience is to create a connection between the partner4 and the customer and through this connection create a relation that emotionally attaches the customer to the brand. Michelli (2007) does not intend to describe the branding strategy of the company, and the purpose of his book is not to demonstrate the branding of Starbucks, but to develop a generic framework for success by indicating that any company can gain success applying the five principles. However, we argue that Michelli (2007) through the book, although maybe not consciously describes the branding of Starbucks, and that the five principles described in sum, constitute the branding strategy, or at least part of it. Implicitly, it can be argued that the strategy Michelli (2007) is describing is an emotional branding strategy as it is evident that emotions are the pivotal point of the strategy, and thus that the goal is to create an emotional relationship with the customers through the five principles. Thereby, focus seems so be shifted from a product benefit-driven approach to an emotional appeal (Roberts, 2004 in Thompson et al., 2006). What also seems clear is that the five principles shall not be deviated from. This indicates a consistency that is in line with the thoughts of emotional branding. Hence, the principles should be kept consistent in all the brand activities of the company over time. Michelli’s (2007) focus is predominantly internal. It is the CEO, managers, and partners who, from a top-down perspective, deliver the five principles and hence the brand to the customer. As mentioned before, the key is to connect with the customer and create a relationship, which according Onward †¦ Howard P.S. Everything that we do, from this point on (from the most simple and basic), matters. Master the fundamentals. Experience Starbucks Source: http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/pressdesc.asp?id=825

Evaluation Essay Essay

The National Basketball Association, popularly Known as the NBA, was established in New York City on June 6, 1946, as the Basketball Association of America and the Chicago Bulls became a member of the NBA after their establishment in 1966. Since becoming the NBA, the basketball played during the playoffs has proven to be far more competetive than that played during the regular season of at least 60 games per team. This was proven beyond doubt when the Chicago Bulls defeated the Brooklyn Nets in the 2013 playoffs after trailing by 14 points with only 3 minutes and forteen seconds of regulation time left. This was quite hard to believe and turned out to be an unexpected reality despite the susceptibility of the Chicago Bulls to injury and the absence of their superstar, Derick Rose. With the emergence of the 2008 number 1 draft pick of the NBA, Derick Rose, drafted by the Chicago Bulls, there was hope for an NBA title for the city of Chicago which has not had any hope since the Michael Jordan era. After the horrible 2012/2013 regular season in which the Bulls suffered a great deal of injuries worst than any other NBA team, the Bulls head into the playoffs still short handed. The first impression about this Bulls’ team is their resilience considering their success into the playoffs despite the injury woes. The first round featured the Bulls and the Nets in what is suppose to be a seven game series with the winner being any team with the first four wins. The two teams meet at the Barclays Center in New York for game 4 of the series with the Bulls leading two games to one. The game appeared to be pretty even within the first three quarters untill the nets blowout to a 14 point lead with exactly 3 minutes and 14 seconds of playtime left on the clock. At this point, no one could see the possibilty of a Bulls win considering the absence of a superb playmaker like their all-star point guard, Derick Rose who used to lead them to numerous comeback wins. Notwithstan ding, the bulls backup point guard, Nate Robinson, who is just 5†² 9†³ tall, Weighing 180 lb popularly reffered to as ‘little Nate’ by most basketball journalists and analysts went to work. He can be reffered to at this point as the savior, but who could have imagined that at a crucial point like this, it will be the backup point guard, who is not ony the smallest player on the bulls roster but also one of the least regarded who will bail them out. With the nets leading by 14 at this point, all hope was lost but the Bulls coach, Tom Thibedeau, was still on his toes with the hope to salvage the situation.  Nate took over, first by hitting a three point basket. The lead was down to 11, but the Nets’ coach was pretty relaxed and still had hope for a victory while little Nate thought otherwise. He made 90% of all the points made by the Bulls from this point on. With the Nets loosing the ball at the other end, the bulls converted at the other end. By the time the short clock was at 1:14, the bulls had made and 8:0 run, and the battle was far from done. This was quite unexpected for many reasons. The basketball played during the playoff is way more competitive such that it is rare to see an 8-0 run at a crucial point such as in this situation. In addition to this, the bulls were very short handed compared to a very health Brooklyn team with promissing reserves as well. It all came down to this; â€Å"Who had the passion, who had the drive† as one of the journlists noted. At this point, even though ‘Little Nate ‘ was the main playmaker for the bulls, all the players stepped up their game. Everyone was alert. The rebounding was up, the defending up, the players seemed unstopable at this point. Still, everyone still doubted a bulls win who were still down by 6 points with 1:14 left on the clock. Notwithstanding, the bulls believed in themselves and kept the pace. With the players doing a great job, there was one man who can be reffered to at this point as the fuel, the coach, Tom Thibedeau. He was sensational, and constantly on his toes and he is regarded as someone who believes in winning with no regards to whoever is on the court, whether they are stars, superstars, rookies or average players. This was the mentality he impacted on the bulls despite the absence of their best player. With 1:11 left, the bulls continue to make their run through Nate. Relative to his performance that night, this little guy appeared very tall and not even Brook Lopez, a very big guy of 7 ft 0 and 275 lb on the opposing team could stop him. Lopez put a huge body on ‘little Nate’ whose intelligence overcame the doggy defence. He continued to nock down shots to everyone’s suprise. â€Å"Big things come in small packages† one of the journalists said in reference to his astounding performance. Both teams were level at the end of the fourth quarter and headed for overtime. This was a turn ing point for both teams. While the nets played well, the bulls were clearly the team with the bigger drive to win. Nothing could be seen to limit the bulls not even age in the case of veteran center Nazr Mohammad, the oldest guy on the bulls roster who came off the bench and hit a huge basket with a great offensive rebound that  solidified the bull’s win in the third overtime. In conclusion, the bulls win over the nets in game 4 of the 2013 NBA playoffs was a thriller and no body could have seen it coming. It is worth noting that, believe and hardwork was the driving force of such an unexpected comeback.

Inquiring minds want to know Essays

Inquiring minds want to know Essays Inquiring minds want to know Essay Inquiring minds want to know Essay Sampling plan The idea of sampling is the process of selecting some of the people in the population so that conclusions can be drawn about the entire population (Cooper, Schneider, 2011). The true test of a sampling plan is how well it represents the characteristics of the population. A sampling plan is a detailed outline of which measurements will be taken at what times, on which material, in what manner, and by whom (Sampling). It should allow all questions, as stated in the companys goals, to be answered. Pennon used a multistage qualitative communication study to determine the long- ERM feasibility of the reader service card used that is used by readers to be able to request additional information from a particular advertiser. First, Pennon drew a small sample of participants from their database of 1. 7 million domestic subscribers. The research team then conducted phone surveys to pre-test the reader-targeted mail questionnaire. A telephone survey is described to be the workhorse of survey research (Cooper, Schneider, 2011). It is a low cost and efficient means of contracting information from people. There are disadvantages or weaknesses when conducting loophole surveys that may have impacted Pennons data. One disadvantage is that there is a limitation on the interview length. A second disadvantage is that there are limitations on the use of visual or complex questions that are used in face to face interviews. Studies have suggested that the response rate in telephone studies is much lower than comparable face to face interviews (Cooper, Schneider, 2011). Participants can find it much easier to terminate a phone conversation. Following the phone surveys, a second pretest through mail went out to a considerably small sample size of 300 subscribers. After the second pretest became finalized, the mail survey went out to 4,000 managers, executives, engineers, and purchasing agents that were selected from the database by using stratified disproportionate random sampling. A total of 710 questionnaires were received, but only 676 of the respondents indicated they were purchase decision makers for their respective organization. Similar to the telephone survey, there are several weaknesses that may potentially exist when conducting surveys via mail. The survey cannot be long or complex and there is no interviewer intervention. Also, the artisans may represent extremes of the population. In this case, over 5% responded they were not decision makers for their organizations. In research, that is a large amount of variability. The number may actually be greater; some that responded may have not indicated they were not decision makers. Using stratified sampling can be disadvantageous because there is a possibility of ignoring other subgroups in the population that could have a strong effect on the management dilemma that ultimately leads to the management decision. In this database. They were able to include a question in the survey that could simply identify who has this type of power in their organization. Pennon was able to significantly reduce the resources needed by investigating the specific audience it had intended to in the questionnaire used in their sample selection. A disadvantage to this is that this does not accurately represent their entire 1. 7 million subscribers. This could change their findings on how the subscribers interact with advertisers through the publication. Research design Research Design is the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and analysis of data (Cooper Schneider, 2011). The research design used by Pennon consisted off ultraists communication study. In a communication study, the researcher questions the subjects and collects their responses by personal or impersonal means (Cooper Schneider, 2011). Pennon started their research by first using exploratory studies. The company started their research by comparing inquiry responses options within the September issues of 12 Pennon magazines. This allowed Pennon to see that readers have more options when responding and the individuals increase in the use of email. The research conducted by Pennon used a two-stage design. The initial surveys allowed Pennon to begin a reporting study to obtain data from the users of the reader service cards. A reporting study provides data that allows the company to have a deeper understanding and generates numbers for comparison. The data that was collected resulted in a reader-targeted mail questionnaire by telephone, and then Pennon mailed a questionnaire to a select 300 subscribers before finalizing the questionnaire to 4,000 managers, executives, engineers, and purchasing agents. The technique used in the questionnaire was qualitative, by asking specific questions on methods of contact between consumer and advertiser. A weakness of the design used by Pennon is the lack on observation and communication with the participants. In the final portion of the study, Pennon should have conducted personal or group interviews to establish a better understanding of the users feelings. Personal interviews with the 4,000 managers and executives may supply a great depth of information regarding user preferences. As mentioned previously, a great deal of variability exists when dealing with telephone or mailed surveys. Pennon cannot fully verify the experience of the participants. In conclusion, Pennon Media believed that its magazine advertisements did not enervate as much revenue as they used to create.

Quand on Parle du Loup French Proverb Meaning

Quand on Parle du Loup French Proverb Meaning Expression: Quand on parle du loup (on en voit la queue) Pronunciation: [ka(n) to(n) parl du loo] Meaning: Speak of the devil (and he appears) Literal translation: When you talk about the wolf (you see its tail) Register: normal Notes The French proverb quand on parle du loup is used just like the English speak of the devil, when you are talking about someone who arrives right then or shortly after. Its interesting that in both expressions, the talked-about person is referred to as mean or evil- the devil is worse than a wolf, of course, but the latter is still considered a savage animal. Its also intriguing that in English, the devil appears completely, so to speak, while in French you only see the loups tail. Somehow the latter seems more ominous as if its sneaking up on you. Example Je pense que Benoà ®t est un vrai... tiens, Benoà ®t  ! Quand on parle du loup  ! I think Benoà ®t is a real... hey, Benoà ®t! Speak of the devil!

Relationship Literacy Article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Relationship Literacy Article - Essay Example Fundamentally speaking, most forms of abuse originate for the abuser, as a learned behavior. In fact, most abusers were in fact abused themselves as children in the case of either sexual, physical or emotional abuse. When this type of behavior is exhibited to children and youth as a ‘normal’ means of interacting, the individual then proceeds into their future social interactions with the ideology that abusive behavior is not only acceptable but also normal. By implementing relationship literacy on an early childhood educational level and on through the adolescent years, individuals will be more readily equipped with the social and moral tools to properly interact with others throughout their life. This is a two fold process. By teaching and modeling proper human interaction within the school system, children will certainly have a comprehensive understanding of what is socially expected of them as a member of society. Furthermore, the rule of no tolerance towards school v iolence, verbal threats and abuse and sexual forms of abuse; will further instill within children a sense of accountability and consequence. The question of where to begin the approach to relationship literacy training can be answered by approaching the topic where it is most needed. In fact, the origin of the program began in inner city environments, ten years ago, with an approach to anger management as well as an emphasis on the overall importance of personal relationships and healthy social interaction. In so many cases, violence and abuse prevail simply because so many are not equipped with proper mechanisms of dealing with anger and conflict. By placing emphasis on virtues such as sympathy and apathy, programs offering relationship literacy training can prepare children and youth for future appropriate and healthy relationship interaction. With the growing need to address national

THE EFFECT OF DRUGS ON PEOPLE WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER Term Paper

THE EFFECT OF DRUGS ON PEOPLE WITH BIPOLAR DISORDER - Term Paper Example Depressive disorders impress the direction a persons head purposes. Bipolar disorder becomes by a lot of names: bipolar disorder, diseased person disorder, diseased person illness, bipolar temper disorder, and bipolar emotional disorder are medical phrases for the identical circumstance (Smith, 2009). Bipolar disorder is broadly classified addicted to four unlike categories: Bipolar I, Bipolar II, Cyclothymic Disorder, or Bipolar Disorder not Differently Determined. The health individuals distinguish the discipline into these four categories for the reason that the symptoms of bipolar disorder demonstrate up in a different ways as well as in dissimilar people. When doctors experience what kind somebody has, they be capable of tailor management to that persons particular demands (Guyol, 2006). The antidepressant medications which are almost frequently used to handle depressive disorders: are by and large divided into three groups these are tricyclics, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and lithium. Lithium has and then for been the a good number effected choice for by bipolar disorder in addition to a number of outlines of returning, most important depression. On the other hand, further lately doctors have also been by means of anticonvulsants for bipolar disorder (Guyol, 2006). Your general practitioner be obliged to think your personal health times gone by and reply to medications in finding out what is most beneficial for you. Every now and then different medicines are tried, and occasionally the quantity must be improved to be successful. People are in practice of blocking medicine early which is not in thier favor indeed. It is significant to continue taking medicine till your doctor says to discontinue, yet if you must be aware of enhanced in advance. A number of medications are required to be stopped slowly but surely to provide your body time to regulate. For individuals with bipolar